The Webster Parish Library will soon be offering access to military records so patrons can easily search for records they might need.
Library Director Beverly Hammett said installation and set up of the database should be complete at the main branch by the end of February. She said this came about as a request from several of their library patrons who were asking for them.
“It’s from the same company that does Ancestry.com and Heritage Quest,” she said. “It’s from the same company but it will primarily be military records. A lot of people use them for genealogy research.”
Several years ago, when her son attended Boys State, an educational program of government instruction for high school students, Hammett said she had to prove her father was in the military. She did not have those records, but luckily, she was able to get them.
Healthcare and special veterans programs are another reason patrons need access to military records.
“Some people, when they’re trying to apply for benefits, they need access to their records,” she said.
The records go back as far as the 1700s. Hammett said people will be able to look them up by date or by war, all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Patrons will also be able to research international military records, she said.
Other records include headstone applications by year and non-military records such as Native American records and passport applications dating back to 1785.
Once the database is set up, Hammett said a link will be available on their website, www.websterparishlibrary.org.